Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, And Video Sound Output System

ABSTRACT

The information processing apparatus includes a control section that detects a position of a sound source appearing in a video displayed on a screen of a display unit and that uses one or more vibrators to vibrate the display unit and thereby control output of sound such that a sound image of sound in synchronization with the video is localized at the position where the sound source appears on the screen displaying the video. In a case of displaying videos of two or more video sources on individual windows, the control section localizes a sound image of a sound source detected from the video of each video source at a position where the sound source appears in the corresponding window.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The technique disclosed in the present specification relates to aninformation processing apparatus, an information processing method, anda video sound output system that execute an output process of anacoustic signal in synchronization with a video signal.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, a television apparatus (or an amplifier apparatus orthe like connected to the television apparatus) that uses a soundlocalization technique for virtually localizing a sound source ofreproduction sound at a desirable position is proposed (see PTL 1).Basically, left and right speakers can be arranged on the televisionapparatus, and stereo signals of two left and right channels can bereproduced to realize the sound localization. The number of channels ofthe sound signals can be increased, and the speakers can be multiplexedto control the sound field at a higher resolution. For example, anacoustic signal processing apparatus that uses a plurality of speakersto output sound and thereby increase the sound quality of apredetermined listening area is proposed (see PTL 2).

Meanwhile, an organic EL (Electroluminescence) technique or the like isused, and the size of the screen is increasing. The large screen can notonly display one piece of content, such as a TV program, but can alsodisplay a plurality of pieces of content in parallel. For example, PIP(Picture in Picture) for displaying a video on a sub screen in a mainscreen displaying a specific video in the screen, PAP (Picture andPicture) for displaying another video outside of a specific video in thedisplay screen, and the like are known (see PTL 3). In addition, thevideo sources displayed in parallel are not limited to broadcastcontent, and the video sources can be various types of content, such asnetwork content delivered through the Internet and reproduction contentoutput from Blu-ray or other disk reproduction apparatuses. For example,a hybrid terminal that handles both the broadcast content and thenetwork content is proposed (see PTL 4).

CITATION LIST Patent Literature [PTL 1]

JP 2011-259299A

[PTL 2]

JP 2013-102389A

[PTL 3]

Japanese Patent No. 3526056

[PTL 4]

JP 2013-31046A

SUMMARY Technical Problem

An object of the technique disclosed in the present specification is toprovide an information processing apparatus, an information processingmethod, and a video sound output system that execute an output processof an acoustic signal in synchronization with a video signal.

Solution to Problem

A first aspect of the technique disclosed in the present specificationprovides

an information processing apparatus including a control section thatdetects a position of a sound source appearing in a video displayed on ascreen of a display unit and that uses one or more vibrators to vibratethe display unit and thereby control output of sound such that a soundimage of sound in synchronization with the video is localized at theposition where the sound source appears on the screen displaying thevideo.

In a case of displaying videos of two or more video sources onindividual windows, the control section localizes a sound image of asound source detected from the video of each video source at a positionwhere the sound source appears in the corresponding window.

In addition, a second aspect of the technique disclosed in the presentspecification provides

an information processing method including:

a detection step of detecting a position of a sound source appearing ina video displayed on a screen of a display unit; and

a control step of using one or more vibrators to vibrate the displayunit and thereby control output of sound such that a sound image ofsound in synchronization with the video is localized at the positionwhere the sound source appears on the screen displaying the video.

In addition, a third aspect of the technique disclosed in the presentspecification provides

a video sound output system including:

a display unit;

a sound output unit that uses one or more vibrators to vibrate thedisplay unit and thereby output sound; and

a control section that detects a position of a sound source appearing ina video displayed on a screen of the display unit and that controls thesound output unit such that a sound image of sound in synchronizationwith the video is localized at the position where the sound sourceappears on the screen displaying the video.

The “system” mentioned here denotes a logical set of a plurality ofapparatuses (or functional modules that realize specific functions), andwhether or not the apparatuses or the functional modules are in a singlehousing does not particularly matter.

Advantageous Effect of Invention

According to the technique disclosed in the present specification, aninformation processing apparatus, an information processing method, anda video sound output system that execute an output process of anacoustic signal in synchronization with a video signal can be provided.

Note that the advantageous effects described in the presentspecification are illustrative only, and the advantageous effects of thepresent invention are not limited to these. In addition, the presentinvention may also attain additional advantageous effects other than theadvantageous effect described above.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the technique disclosed inthe present specification will become apparent from more detaileddescription based on the embodiment described later and the attacheddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an environment in whichthe technique disclosed in the present specification is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating an internal configurationexample of a television apparatus 200.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a functionalconfiguration for executing a process of bringing a sound image intoline with an image in video transmission content.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating a functionalconfiguration for executing the process of bringing the sound image intoline with the image in visual communication.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating a functionalconfiguration for executing a process of bringing the sound image of asound agent into line with the image.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the sound agent movesin a large screen according to the movement of an interacting user.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a processing procedure forcontrolling sound output of the sound agent according to a position ofthe user.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a state in which OSD appears from anupper left end of the screen.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a processingunit 201 that carries out, in parallel, processes of bringing soundimages into line with a plurality of images.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state of superimposing planes in avideo memory.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an application example of a screenvibration speaker technique.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of anoperating room system 1200.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a state of localizing a sound image ofwarning sound on a screen of an endoscopic video displaying a surgerysite.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a state of localizing the sound imageof the warning sound on the screen of the endoscopic video displayingthe surgery site.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a state of localizing the sound imageof the warning sound on the screen of the endoscopic video displayingthe surgery site.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a state of localizing sound images ofthe warning sound on the screen of the endoscopic video displaying thesurgery site.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration example of avehicle control system 1700.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of installation positionsof an imaging unit 17410 and a vehicle exterior information detectionsection 17420.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a specification example of soundlocalization in the vehicle control system 1700.

FIG. 20 is another diagram illustrating a specific example of the soundlocalization in the vehicle control system 1700.

FIG. 21 is still another diagram illustrating a specific example of thesound localization in the vehicle control system 1700.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating another specific example of the soundlocalization in the vehicle control system 1700.

FIG. 23 is another diagram illustrating another specific example of thesound localization in the vehicle control system 1700.

FIG. 24 is still another diagram illustrating another specific exampleof the sound localization in the vehicle control system 1700.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the technique disclosed in the presentspecification will be described in detail with reference to thedrawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an environment in which the techniquedisclosed in the present specification is applied. In FIG. 1, atelevision apparatus 100 is installed on a wall surface facing aplurality of users (such as family members) relaxing and sitting on asofa of a living room. The television apparatus 100 includes a largescreen using an organic EL technique or the like.

The television apparatus 100 is equipped with a speaker array includinga plurality of speakers not illustrated or is externally connected. Thespeaker array may be configured to use one or more vibrators (actuators)two-dimensionally arrayed on the back side of the screen of thetelevision apparatus 100 to vibrate the screen and thereby output sound.In addition, the arrangement position of the vibrators (actuators) isnot limited to the back side of the screen, and the array is not limitedto the two-dimensional array. It is assumed in the present embodimentthat the television apparatus 100 can use the speaker array to controlthe sound field at a high resolution.

The television apparatus 100 can select and receive a broadcast signalthrough a built-in tuner or an external tuner. In addition, thetelevision apparatus 100 is equipped with a network interface card andis capable of transmitting and receiving data related to visualcommunication, such as an OTT (Over the Top) service and a videoconference provided by a provider. In addition, an application installedin advance, such as a sound agent and an assistant, can be executed onthe television apparatus 100.

Therefore, at least one of plural pieces of content, such as on-air orrecorded broadcast content, streaming content delivered by an OTTservice, a video conference (or a Web conference) or other visualcommunication, and a character of a sound agent or an assistant, isdisplayed on the large screen of the television apparatus 100. Inaddition, a technique, such as PIP and PAP, can also be used to displaytwo or more pieces of content in parallel at the same time on the largescreen. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, on-air broadcast content101, visual communication 102, and a character 103 of a sound agent aredisplayed in parallel at the same time on the large screen of thetelevision 100. In addition, although not illustrated in FIG. 1,graphics information, such as OSD (On Screen Display) generated in thetelevision apparatus 100, can also be displayed on the large screen.

Note that, although the TV screens are installed on only one wall in theliving room in the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the TV screens may beinstalled on the walls of two or more surfaces. Further, in a case wherethe TV screens are installed in succession on adjacent walls, a displaymethod can be carried out, in which all of the TV screens aresynchronously driven and, for example, the character of the sound agentor the like is continuously moved across the TV screens on two or moresurfaces.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an internal configuration example of atelevision apparatus 200. Here, the television apparatus 200 may be aninformation processing apparatus including a broadcast tuner. Theillustrated television apparatus 200 includes a processing unit 201, atuner 202, a communication unit 203, a display unit 204, a sound inputunit 205, a sound output unit 206, an imaging unit 207, a sensor unit208, a remote control reception unit 209, and a recording unit 210.

The tuner 202 selects and receives broadcast signals of terrestrialbroadcasting and satellite broadcasting. In addition, the communicationunit 203 uses wired communication, such as Ethernet (registeredtrademark), or wireless communication, such as Wi-Fi (registeredtrademark), to connect to an external network, such as the Internet. Forexample, the communication unit 203 transmits and receives data relatedto an OTT service or visual communication provided by the provider. Inaddition, the communication unit 203 includes a communication interfacethat transmits digital signals of video and sound of HDMI (registeredtrademark) (High Definition Multimedia Interface) or the like and can beused to externally connect a recording and reproducing device, such asBlu-ray and a hard disk, a game machine, and the like to the televisionapparatus 200. In addition, the communication unit 203 may be mutuallyconnected to each CE device in a household through a home networkaccording to a standard, such as DLNA (registered trademark) (DigitalLiving Network Alliance), for example, or may further have an interfacefunction for an IoT (Internet of Things) device.

The display unit 204 includes, for example, an organic EL element andincludes a large screen with an aspect ratio of 16:9. The display unit204 is used to display a video, an EPG (Electronic Program Guide), anddata broadcast content of program content selected and received by thetuner 202, display streaming content delivered by an OTT service, ordisplay a video of visual communication such as a video conference. Inaddition, graphics, such as an image of a sound agent or otherapplications installed in advance on the television apparatus 200 andOSD generated in the television apparatus 200, are also displayed on thedisplay unit 204. Note that a touch sensor may be superimposed on partor all of the area of the screen of the display unit 204.

The sound input unit 205 includes a sound collection element, such as amicrophone, and is used to input sound generated in a room (in theliving room illustrated in FIG. 1) in which the television apparatus 200is installed. An example of the sound generated in the room includes aspeech of a viewer of a TV program or a user using the sound agent. Thesound input unit 205 may include a microphone array including acombination of plural microphones. In addition, part or all of themicrophones may be externally connected to the television apparatus 200.Alternatively, a microphone mounted on a remote control for thetelevision apparatus 200 may be included, or a microphone mounted on anexternal device of the television apparatus 200, such as a smartphoneand a wearable device, may be included. In the case where the soundinput unit 205 includes a plurality of microphones, a beamformingprocess can be executed to increase the sound collection sensitivity ofthe sound from a desirable sound source position, such as sound of theuser talking to the sound agent, or conversely, to reduce the soundcollection sensitivity of sound from an unnecessary sound sourceposition, such as voice of other users and sound output from other AVdevices in the room.

The sound output unit 206 is used for output of sound of program contentor data broadcast content selected and received by the tuner 202, outputof synthetic sound of sound agent function, and the like. The soundoutput unit 206 includes a sound generation element, such as a speaker.In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the sound output unit 206includes a speaker array (multi-channel speaker or super multi-channelspeaker) including a combination of plural speakers (part or all of thespeakers may be externally connected to the television apparatus 200).Therefore, the sound output unit 206 can generate a sound field based onthe output control of each speaker to localize the sound image at adesirable position or to make it difficult to hear the sound from aplace other than the desirable position.

Other than cone type speakers, flat-panel speakers can be arranged in anarray and used as the sound output unit 206. Obviously, a speaker arrayincluding a combination of different types of speakers can also be usedas the sound output unit 206. In addition, the speaker array may alsoinclude one or more vibrators (actuators) that generate vibration tocause the display unit 204 to vibrate and thereby output sound. Thevibrators (actuators) may be actuators added on to the display unit 204.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of applying the screen vibration speakertechnique to a display. A display 1100 is supported by a stand 1102 on arear surface. In addition, a speaker unit 1101 is attached to the backsurface of the display 1100. A vibrator (actuator) 1101-1 is arranged onthe left end of the speaker unit 1101, and a vibrator (actuator) 1101-2is arranged on the right end to provide a speaker array. The vibrators(actuators) 1101-1 and 1101-2 can vibrate the display 1101 to outputsound based on left and right sound signals, respectively. In addition,the stand 1102 may include a subwoofer that outputs low-frequency sound.Note that the display 1100 corresponds to the display unit 204 using anorganic EL element.

The internal configuration of the television apparatus 200 willcontinuously be described with reference again to FIG. 2. The imagingunit 207 includes, for example, a camera including an image sensor, suchas a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxyde Semiconductor) and a CCD (ChargeCoupled Device), and mainly images, for example, a user in front of thelarge screen of the display unit 204 or a scene in the room in the frontdirection of the television apparatus 200. The imaging unit 207 may be,for example, a stereo camera using two cameras or a multi-camera usingthree or more cameras. In addition, part or all of the cameras may beexternally connected to the television apparatus 200.

The sensor unit 208 mainly senses environment information in the roomprovided with the television apparatus 200. The configuration of thesensor unit 208, that is, what kind of sensor element is included, isoptional. For example, the sensor unit 208 may include an objectdetection sensor or a depth sensor. The furniture installed in the roomor the layout of the room can be detected based on a detection result ofthe object detection sensor or the depth sensor (if necessary, inconjunction with an image recognition result of an image captured by theimaging unit 207). In addition, the sensor unit 208 may also include anenvironment sensor, such as an illuminance sensor, a temperature sensor,and a humidity sensor, that detects environment information. Inaddition, the sensor unit 208 may also include an infrared sensor or amotion sensor to detect the position or the movement of the user in theroom. In addition, the sensor unit 208 may also include a biosensor thatdetects the pulse, sweating, brain waves, myogenic potential,exhalation, and the like of the user. Part or all of the sensor unitsincluded in the sensor unit 208 may be externally or wirelesslyconnected to the television apparatus 200.

The remote control reception unit 209 executes a reception process of aremote control command transmitted from a remote control (notillustrated) by using infrared communication, near field communication,or the like. The operator of the remote control is, for example, theuser viewing the television apparatus 200 in the living room illustratedin FIG. 1.

The recording unit 210 includes, for example, a large-capacity recordingapparatus, such as an HDD (Hard Disc Drive), and is mainly used torecord the program content received by the tuner 202. The recording unit210 is installed in the television apparatus 200 in one case, and inanother case, the recording unit 210 is externally connected to thetelevision apparatus 200 through an interface, such as HDMI (registeredtrademark) (High Definition Multimedia Interface) and USB (UniversalSerial Bus).

The processing unit 201 includes a processor and a memory and executesprograms loaded on the memory to carry out various processes andcomprehensively control the action in the television apparatus 200. Inthe processing unit 201, various applications are basically executedunder an execution environment provided by an operating system (OS). Forexample, in a case where a multiprocessor can be used or in a case wherethe OS is capable of multithreaded execution, every unit of processingthat can be executed in parallel can be read out to the memory andexecuted in parallel.

Examples of the process executed by the processing unit 201 includeoperations in the device 100, such as channel selection, volumeadjustment, recording, and image quality adjustment, corresponding toremote control commands received by the remote control reception unit209, an output process of video and sound of program content selectedand received by the tuner 202, a reproduction output process of programcontent recorded in the recording unit 210, a reproduction outputprocess of streaming content delivered by OTT service, execution of anapplication, control of the display of OSD, and the like. In addition,examples of the application executed by the processing unit 201 includea data broadcast application received through the tuner 202 or thecommunication unit 203, an application of OTT service, and anapplication, such as a sound agent and visual communication, installedin advance on the processing unit 201. In addition, the processing unit201 can also execute plural agent applications in parallel, and thetelevision apparatus 200 can function as a plurality of agent devices.

The television apparatus 200 performs hybrid video display in parallel,such as output of video and sound of the selected and received broadcastcontent, reproduction and output of the streaming content delivered byOTT service, reproduction and output of visual communication, such as avideo conference, and display of graphics of the sound agent or thelike. Therefore, the processing unit 201 includes a video memoryincluding a plurality of planes for broadcast content, streamingcontent, visual communication, and graphics. In addition, when aplurality of pieces of video content is displayed at the same time, amulti-window is applied as also illustrated in FIG. 1. That is, in theprocessing unit 201, the resolution of each video of broadcast content,streaming content, visual communication, and graphics is convertedaccording to the window size set for each video, and the video is copiedto a window position on each plane. Subsequently, the planes in thevideo memory are superimposed in a predetermined order to generate oneimage frame. The image frame is temporarily stored in a video buffer,and then the display unit 204 displays the video.

In addition, the television apparatus 200 according to the presentembodiment is characterized in that sound localization for bringing asound image into line with an image is executed in sound signalprocessing.

If the sound corresponding to the video is localized at a positiondifferent from the display position of the video, the user viewing thescreen feels uncomfortable. For example, when a plurality of performersappears in the window of broadcast content, and one or a plurality ofvideo conference participants is on the window of visual communication,if the sound image of the voice spoken by the video conferenceparticipant is not localized in the window of visual communication, theuser may be confused whose voice it is, or mutual understanding may beobstructed.

When all of the large screen is used to display a TV program in which aplurality of performers appears, if the voice spoken by a performer islocalized at a place separated from the position where the performer isdisplayed, it is difficult for the user to identify the speaker, and theuser feels uncomfortable. In addition, it is unnatural to continuouslylocalize, at a certain place, the sound image of the sound agent movingin the screen. The problem of mismatch of the sound image and the imagebecomes more prominent with an increase in the size of the screen.

Further, as described above, if the sound image and the image do notmatch in the case where plural videos, such as video content ofbroadcast or streaming, visual communication, and sound agent, aredisplayed in parallel, the user may misunderstand the window generatingthe sound.

Therefore, the television apparatus 200 according to the presentembodiment is configured to carry out a process of detecting the soundsource appearing in the video, calculating the display position of thesound source on the screen, and localizing the sound generated from thesound source at the display position of the sound source to therebybring the sound image into line with the image.

Hereinafter, processes executed by the television apparatus 200 to bringthe sound images into line with images in displaying the video content(including broadcasting and OTT service), the visual communication, andthe graphics will be described.

(1) Case of Video Content

In the case where the video is broadcast content, the sound sourceappearing in the video is a performer of the TV program (or a speakerdisplayed on the screen). For example, the face position of theperformer in the image can be detected through video analysis to therebydetect the sound source. When a plurality of performers appears at thesame time, the face position of each performer is detected as a soundsource. Alternatively, the data of the face position of each performermay be transmitted as meta information of the broadcast content. Whenthe TV program is displayed on the entire screen, the detected faceposition is the display position of the sound source. Further, in thecase where the multi-window is applied, the face position in the windowdisplaying the TV program is calculated as the display position of thesound source. Further, every time each performer speaks, sound signalprocessing is executed to localize the sound image of the sound at theposition where the face of the performer is displayed on the screen, andthe sound is output from the sound output unit 206.

Note that the process of bringing the sound image into line with theimage in the streaming content delivered by the OTT service is similarto the process described above.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a functional configuration forexecuting the process of bringing the sound image into line with theimage in the video content. It is assumed here that each functionalmodule illustrated in FIG. 3 is basically implemented in the processingunit 201.

The broadcast signal selected and received by the tuner 202 (notillustrated in FIG. 3) is demodulated and demultiplexed into video andsound. Subsequently, a decoding process is further applied to each ofthe video signal and the sound signal. FIG. 3 is based on the assumptionthat the video signal and the sound signal subjected to the decodingprocess are input.

In the case of the OTT service, the communication signal received by thecommunication unit 203 (not illustrated in FIG. 3) is demodulated anddemultiplexed into video and sound. Subsequently a decoding process isfurther applied to each of the video signal and the sound signal. Thetransfer system of streams and the format of data may vary in eachprovider that provides the service. In any case, FIG. 3 is based on theassumption that the video signal and the sound signal subjected to thedecoding process are input. Further, in a case where digital signals ofvideo and sound are input from a recording and reproducing device, suchas Blu-ray and a hard disk, a game machine, or the like through adigital communication interface, such as HDMI (registered trademark), itis assumed that the process according to the OTT service is carried out.

Once the video signal subjected to decoding is input, a video processingunit 301 detects the position of the sound source included in the videoframe. The sound source is a speaker, such as a performer of theprogram. In a case where objects that output sound, such as musicalinstruments, are included in the frame, the positions of the objects assound sources are also detected. The video processing unit 301 performsvideo analysis or the like in the course of, for example, the imagequality adjustment process of the video signal to detect the faceposition of the speaker in the image and detect the sound source.Alternatively, in the case where the information of the sound sourceposition is included in the meta information transmitted in associationwith the stream, the sound source position may be detected through thedecoding process of the meta information. In the case where a pluralityof speakers is included at the same time in the video, the videoprocessing unit 301 detects each speaker as a sound source and detectsthe sound source position. The video signal processed by the videoprocessing unit 301 is once written in a video plane in the video memory(not illustrated in FIG. 3), and then the video signal is superimposedwith the image information of other planes and displayed and output tothe screen of the display unit 204.

Once the sound signal subjected to decoding is input, a sound processingunit 302 uses a plurality of speakers included in the sound output unit206 to output the sound. In a case where position information of thesound source is provided from the video processing unit 301, the soundprocessing unit 302 localizes the sound image at the position of thesound source, and the sound is output from the sound output unit 206.

In the case where the video frame is displayed on the entire screen ofthe display unit 204, the sound processing unit 302 converts the soundsource position detected by the video processing unit 301 intoinformation of the display position on the screen and localizes thesound image. On the other hand, in the case where the multi-window isapplied to the screen of the display unit 204, once the sound processingunit 302 acquires, from a window control section 303, information of thedisplay position and the size of the window allocated to the display ofthe video, the sound processing unit 302 converts the sound sourceposition in the frame detected by the video processing unit 301 into theposition in the window and adds the display position (offset) of thewindow to the position to thereby obtain information of the position ofthe sound source on the screen and localize the sound image.

In the case of the video including a plurality of sound sources (forexample, in a case where a plurality of speakers appears in the video atthe same time), the video processing unit 301 detects the sound sourceposition of each speaker. In addition, the sound processing unit 302separates the input sound signal into sound of each sound source (forexample, each speaker) and localizes each sound source at thecorresponding sound source position to output the sound from the soundoutput unit 206.

Note that, in a case where the television apparatus 200 includes amultiple-tuner or in a case where viewing of a TV program and using ofan OTT service are performed at the same time, the process is carriedout in parallel for each piece of video content.

(2) Case of Visual Communication

In the case where the video is visual communication, such as a videoconference, the sound source appearing in the video is a participant ofthe video conference. For example, the face position of the attendanceof the conference in the image can be detected through video analysis todetect the sound source. In a case where there is a plurality ofparticipants in the conference, the face position of each participant ofthe conference is detected as a sound source. Subsequently, the faceposition of the participant of the conference is calculated as a displayposition of the sound source in the window of the visual communication.Further, every time a participant of the conference speaks, sound signalprocessing is executed to localize the sound image of the sound at theface position of the participant of the conference, and the sound isoutput from the sound output unit 206.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a functional configuration forexecuting a process of bringing the sound image into line with the imagein the visual communication. Here, each functional module illustrated inFIG. 4 is basically implemented in the processing unit 201.

Once a communication signal for visual communication is received by thecommunication unit 203 (not illustrated in FIG. 4), the communicationsignal is demultiplexed into video and sound, and then the decodingprocess is further applied to each of the video signal and the soundsignal. The transfer system of streams and the format of data may varyin each provider that provides the service. In any case, FIG. 4 is basedon the assumption that the video signal and the sound signal subjectedto the decoding process are input.

Once the video signal subjected to decoding is input, a visualcommunication (VC) processing unit 401 carries out a display process ofthe video of the video conference. Here, in a case where multi-pointcommunication is used to perform the visual communication, the visualcommunication processing unit 401 executes a process of dividing thescreen (or window area allocated to visual communication) of the displayunit 204 into plural areas to display and output, to the divided areas,the video conference video imaged at other points (that is, allocate thedivided area to each point). In addition, when the total number ofdivided areas is smaller than the number of connected points, the visualcommunication processing unit 401 switches the screen of each dividedarea. For example, in a case where the video of the point where thespeaker is to speak next or the video of the point where the initiativeis newly taken is hidden, the visual communication processing unit 401switches the currently displayed video of another point to the video.The video signal subjected to processing by the visual communicationprocessing unit 401 is once written in a visual communication plane inthe video memory (not illustrated in FIG. 4), and then the video signalis superimposed with the image information of other planes and displayedand output to the screen of the display unit 204.

The visual communication processing unit 401 detects the position of thesound source included in the video frame. The sound source is a speaker,such as a participant of the video conference in the video. The visualcommunication processing unit 401 executes, for example, a facedetection process to detect the face position of the participant of theconference in the video frame to detect the sound source. Further, inthe case where the multi-point communication is used to perform thevisual communication as described above, the visual communicationprocessing unit 401 detects, as the position of the sound source, thedivided area displaying the video of the point where the speaker iscurrently speaking.

Once the sound signal subjected to decoding is input, the soundprocessing unit 402 uses the plurality of speakers included in the soundoutput unit 206 to output the sound. In the case where the positioninformation of the sound source is provided from the visualcommunication processing unit 401, the sound processing unit 402localizes the sound image at the position of the sound source andoutputs the sound from the sound output unit 206. In the case where themulti-point communication (described above) is used to perform thevisual communication, the sound processing unit 402 localizes the soundimage in the divided area displaying the video of the point where thespeaker is currently speaking.

In the case where the display unit 204 displays the video of the visualcommunication on the entire screen, the sound processing unit 402converts the sound source position detected by the visual communicationprocessing unit 401 into information of the display position on thescreen and localizes the sound image. In the case where the multi-pointcommunication is used to perform the visual communication, the soundimage is localized in the divided area reproducing the video of thepoint where the speaker is currently speaking.

On the other hand, in the case where the multi-window is applied to thescreen of the display unit 204, once the sound processing unit 402acquires, from the window control section 303, the information of thedisplay position and the size of the window allocated to the visualcommunication, the sound processing unit 402 converts the sound sourceposition detected by the visual communication processing unit 401 intothe position in the window and adds the display position (offset) of thewindow to the position to thereby obtain information of the displayposition of the sound source on the screen and localize the sound image.In the case where the multi-point communication is used to perform thevisual communication, the sound image is localized in the divided areareproducing the video of the point where the speaker is currentlyspeaking.

In a case where a plurality of visual communications has logged in atthe same time through the television apparatus 200, the processdescribed above is carried out in parallel for each visualcommunication.

(3) Case of Graphics

The sound source of the sound agent is the video of the sound agent.Therefore, the display position of the sound agent can be acquired froma graphics processing unit that generates the video of the sound agent,to detect the position of the sound source. Further, in a case where thesound agent follows the user and moves in the large screen when the usermoves in the room, the position of the sound source is detected based onthe position information of the user. Further, every time the soundagent speaks, sound signal processing is executed to localize the soundimage of synthetic sound of the sound agent at the display position ofthe sound agent, and the sound is output from the sound output unit 206.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a functional configuration forexecuting a process of bringing the sound image of the sound agent intoline with the image. It is assumed here that each functional moduleillustrated in FIG. 5 is basically implemented in the processing unit201.

In the present embodiment, it is assumed that an application for soundagent is installed in advance on the television apparatus 200. In theprocessing unit 201, such an application is executed to display thegraphics (such as an animation character) of the sound agent on thescreen of the display unit 204 or to output, from the sound output unit206, the sound of a sound message from the sound agent. Here, there maybe a case in which the application for sound agent is not executed inthe television apparatus 200, and instead, the television apparatus 200uses an external agent service. In this case, the television apparatus200 uses the communication unit 203 to use interactive processing of theexternal agent service, and only the input and output of sound and thedisplay of graphics of the sound agent are performed on the televisionapparatus 200.

A graphics processing unit 501 generates the graphics of the characterof the sound source based on the result of the interactive processingexecuted by the processor in the processing unit 201 (or based on theinteractive processing result received from the external agent servicethrough the communication unit 203). Further, a composer 502 composesanimation of the generated character. The image of the composedcharacter animation is once written in a graphics plane in the videomemory (not illustrated in FIG. 5), and then the image is superimposedwith image information of other planes and displayed and output on thescreen of the display unit 204.

Further, the graphics processing unit 501 outputs, to the sound signalprocessing unit 503, information regarding the position for displayingthe graphics of the sound agent on the screen of the display unit 204.

A sound signal processing unit 503 synthesizes sound of a message (text)of the sound agent generated by the processor in the processing unit 201(or external agent service) and uses the plurality of speakers includedin the sound output unit 206, to output the sound. As described above,in the case where the information of the display position of the soundagent is provided from the graphics processing unit 501, the soundsignal processing unit 503 localizes the sound image at the displayposition and outputs the sound of the sound agent from the sound outputunit 206.

In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the sound agent followsthe user and moves in the large screen when the user interacting withthe sound agent moves in the room as illustrated in FIG. 6. In addition,the captured image of the imaging unit 207 or the sensor unit 208including an infrared sensor or a motion sensor can be used to detectthe position of the user moving in the room.

FIG. 7 illustrates, in a form of a flow chart, a processing procedurefor controlling the sound output of the sound agent according to theposition of the user. It is assumed that the illustrated processingprocedure is executed under the control of the processor in theprocessing unit 201.

When the captured image of the imaging unit 207 or the sensor unit 208including an infrared sensor or a motion sensor is used to detect theposition of the user moving in the room (or movement from the positiondetected last time) (Yes in step S701), the graphics processing unit 501calculates the position for displaying the graphics of the sound agenton the screen of the display unit 204, based on the position of the user(step S702). In addition, the graphics processing unit 501 outputs, tothe sound signal processing unit 503, the information regarding theposition for displaying the graphics of the sound agent on the screen ofthe display unit 204.

Next, the sound signal processing unit 503 localizes the sound image ofthe sound of the sound agent and calculates the sound field, based onthe information of the display position of the sound agent provided fromthe graphics processing unit 501 (step S703).

Further, the sound signal processing unit 503 determines the soundoutput positions for outputting the sound of the sound agent from amongthe plural speakers included in the sound output unit 206 in order torealize the sound field calculated in the preceding step S703 (stepS704) and outputs the sound of the sound agent from the sound outputpositions (step S705).

Further, there is also a case of generating a sound effect according tothe graphics display of OSD, UI (User Interface), or the like. The soundeffect has a role of notifying the user of the generation of an eventthat the user needs to quickly respond. In such a case, the sound imageof the sound effect is also localized at the display position of thegraphics as in the case of the sound agent, and the sound effect moreeffectively echoes in the ears of the user.

When the processor in the processing unit 201 detects, during theexecution of the application, an event for which graphics of ODS, UI, orthe like need to be displayed, the processor instructs the graphicsprocessing unit 501 to display the graphics.

The graphics processing unit 501 generates the graphics of OSD, UI, orthe like based on the instruction from the processor in the processingunit 201. Further, the composer 502 composes the generated graphics. Theimage of the composed graphics is once written in the graphics plane inthe video memory (not illustrated in FIG. 5), and then the image issuperimposed with image information of other planes and displayed andoutput to the screen of the display unit 204. Further, the graphicsprocessing unit 501 outputs, to the sound signal processing unit 503,information regarding the position for displaying the graphics of OSD,UI, or the like on the screen of the display unit 204.

The sound signal processing unit 503 synthesizes the sound effect forthe graphics of OSD, UI, or the like and uses a plurality of speakersincluded in the sound output unit 206 to output the sound. As describedabove, in the case where the information of the display position ofgraphics is provided from the graphics processing unit 501, the soundsignal processing unit 503 localizes the sound image at the displayposition and outputs the sound effect for the graphics from the soundoutput unit 206.

FIG. 8 illustrates a state in which OSD indicated by reference number801 appears from the upper left end of the screen. When a peripheralsection of the large screen is used to display graphics, the user maynot notice the graphics. In the case of the multi-window as illustratedin FIG. 1, the display of the screen is complicated in the first place,and the OSD is hidden in the texture of wall paper or the like so thatit is difficult for the user to find the display place of the graphics.In addition, the generation of a sound effect, such as warning sound, insynchronization with the display of OSD does not provide a clue for theuser to find the display when the sound effect is emitted from a placeother than the display place of OSD. On the other hand, according to thepresent embodiment, the sound effect is emitted from the place of theappearance of OSD. Therefore, the user consequently looks in thedirection of the sound image position, and the user can easily find thedisplay of OSD.

The functional configurations for bringing the sound image into linewith the image in the television apparatus 200 have been separatelydescribed above for the video content, the visual communication, and thegraphics. In the present embodiment, the television apparatus 200 adoptsthe multi-window system to display the video content, the visualcommunication, and the graphics in parallel and to carry out theprocesses of brining the sound images into line with the images inparallel.

FIG. 9 illustrates a configuration example of the processing unit 201that displays the video content, the visual communication, and thegraphics in parallel and that carries out the processes of bringing thesound images into line with the images in parallel.

The signal provided by the broadcast service or the OTT service isdemultiplexed into video and sound, and a decoding process is furtherapplied to each of the video signal and the sound signal. Subsequently,the video signal and the sound signal are input to a video processingunit 901 and a sound processing unit 905, respectively.

Once the video signal subjected to decoding is input, the videoprocessing unit 901 detects the position of the sound source included inthe video frame. The sound source is a speaker, such as a performer ofthe program. In a case where objects that output sound, such as musicalinstruments, are included in the frame, the positions of the objects arealso detected as sound sources. The video processing unit 901 performsvideo analysis or the like in the course of, for example, the imagequality adjustment process of the video signal to detect the faceposition of the speaker in the image to detect the sound source. In thecase where a plurality of speakers is included at the same time in thevideo, the video processing unit 901 detects each speaker as a soundsource and detects the sound source position. The video signal processedby the video processing unit 901 is output to a superimposition unit 907and is once written in the video plane in the video memory (notillustrated in FIG. 9).

Once the information of the display position and the size of the windowallocated to the display of the video is acquired from a window controlsection 906, the sound processing unit 905 converts the sound sourceposition in the frame detected by the video processing unit 301 into theposition in the window and adds the display position (offset) of thewindow to the position to thereby obtain information of the position ofthe sound source on the screen and localize the sound image.

Once the video signal subjected to decoding is input, the visualcommunication processing unit 902 carries out the display process of thevideo of the video conference and also detects the position of the soundsource included in the video frame. The sound source is a speaker, suchas a participant of the video conference in the video. In the case wherethe multi-point communication (described above) is used to perform thevisual communication, the visual communication processing unit 902detects, as the position of the sound source, the divided areadisplaying the video of the point where the speaker is currentlyspeaking. The video signal processed by the visual communicationprocessing unit 902 is output to the superimposition unit 907 and isonce written in the visual communication plane in the video memory (notillustrated in FIG. 9).

In the case where a plurality of visual communications has logged in atthe same time through the television apparatus 200, the visualcommunication process is carried out in parallel for each visualcommunication.

Once the information of the display position and the size of the windowallocated to the display of the visual communication is acquired fromthe window control section 906, the sound processing unit 905 convertsthe sound source position provided from the visual communicationprocessing unit 902 into the position in the window and adds the displayposition (offset) of the window to the position to thereby obtain theinformation of the position of the sound source on the screen andlocalize the sound image. Further, in the case where the multi-pointcommunication (described above) is used to perform the visualcommunication, the sound processing unit 905 localizes the sound imagein the divided area displaying the video of the point where the speakeris currently speaking.

The graphics processing unit 903 generates the graphics of the characterof the sound agent based on the result of interactive processingexecuted by the processor in the processing unit 201. Further, thecomposer 904 composes the animation of the generated character. Theimage of the composed character animation is once written in thegraphics plane in the video memory (not illustrated in FIG. 9). Further,the graphics processing unit 903 outputs the information regarding theposition for displaying the graphics of the sound agent on the screen ofthe display unit 204 to the sound signal processing unit 905.

The sound signal processing unit 905 synthesizes the sound of themessage (text) of the sound agent generated by the processor in theprocessing unit 201. Further, the sound processing unit 905 localizesthe sound image of the sound of the character at the display position ofthe graphics provided from the graphics processing unit 903 and outputsthe sound from the sound output unit 206.

The superimposition unit 907 once writes the video signal output fromthe video processing unit 901 in the video plane in the video memory. Atthat time, the superimposition unit 907 acquires, from the windowcontrol section 906, the information of the display position and thesize of the window allocated to the display of the video and writes thevideo in the window area allocated to the display of the video on thevideo plane.

Further, the superimposition unit 907 once writes the video signaloutput from the visual communication processing unit 902 in the visualcommunication plane in the video memory. At that time, thesuperimposition unit 907 acquires, from the window control section 906,the information of the display position and the size of the windowallocated to the display of the visual communication and writes thevideo in the window area allocated to the display of the video on thevisual communication plane.

Further, the superimposition unit 907 writes the video of the characterand the graphics of OSD, UI, or the like output from the composer 904 inthe graphics plane.

Further, the superimposition unit 907 superimposes plural planes in thevideo memory in a predetermined order to complete one image frame. Inthe present embodiment, the background plane, the video plane, and thegraphics plane are sequentially superimposed from the back side towardthe front as illustrated in FIG. 10. However, the order of arrangementof the planes is optional. The image frame is subsequently displayed andoutput to the screen of the display unit 204. The display of the planeon the front side is prioritized. In the screen configuration example ofthe television apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 1, the windows 101 and102 of the video content, such as a TV program, and the visualcommunication and the character 103 of the sound agent are arranged notto overlap with each other, and in a case where at least part of theareas overlap with each other, the video on the back side is hidden bythe video on the front side.

Example 1

The technique according to the present disclosure can be applied tovarious products. For example, the technique according to the presentdisclosure can be applied to an operating room system. A case ofapplying the technique according to the present disclosure to theoperating room system will be described below.

FIG. 12 schematically illustrates an overall configuration of anoperating room system 1200 in which the technique according to thepresent disclosure can be applied. The illustrated operating room system1200 includes an audio-visual controller (AV Controller) 1207 and anoperating room control apparatus 1209. The audio-visual controller 1207and the operating room control apparatus 1209 are connected to eachother and capable of cooperating with each other.

Various apparatuses may be installed in an operating room. In theexample illustrated in FIG. 12, a group 1201 of various apparatuses forendoscopic surgery, a ceiling camera 1287 that is provided on theceiling of the operating room and that images an area around the handsof an operator, an operating room camera 1289 that is provided on theceiling of the operating room and that images the state of the entireoperating room, a plurality of display apparatuses 1203A to 1203D, arecorder 1205, a patient bed 1283, a light 1291, and the like areinstalled in the operating room.

Among the apparatuses, the apparatus group 1201 belongs to an endoscopicsurgery system and includes an endoscope, a display apparatus thatdisplays an image captured by the endoscope, and the like. Eachapparatus belonging to the endoscopic surgery system is also called amedical device. On the other hand, the display apparatuses 1203A to D,the recorder 1205, the patient bed 1283, and the light 1291 areapparatuses installed in the same operating room that do not belong tothe endoscopic surgery system. Each apparatus not belonging to theendoscopic surgery system is also called a non-medical device. Theaudio-visual controller 1207 and the operating room control apparatus1209 cooperate with each other to control the actions of the medicaldevices and the non-medical method devices.

The audio-visual controller 1207 comprehensively controls processesrelated to image display in the medical devices and the non-medicaldevices in the operating room system 1200. Here, among the apparatusesincluded in the operating room system 1200, the apparatus group 1201,the ceiling camera 1287, and the operating room camera 1289 areapparatuses (hereinafter, also referred to as “transmission sourceapparatuses”) with functions for transmitting information (hereinafter,also referred to as “display information”) to be displayed duringsurgery. In addition, the display apparatuses 1203A to 1203D areapparatuses (hereinafter, also referred to as “output destinationapparatuses”) that output display information. In addition, the recorder1205 is an apparatus serving as both a transmission source apparatus andan output destination apparatus. In the operating room system 1200, theaudio-visual controller 1207 has a function for controlling the actionsof the transmission source apparatuses and the output destinationapparatuses, acquiring display information from the transmission sourceapparatuses, transmitting the display information to the outputdestination apparatuses, and causing the output destination apparatusesto display or record the display information. Note that the displayinformation includes various images captured during surgery, varioustypes of information regarding surgery (for example, physicalinformation of patient, past examination result, and informationregarding surgical method), and the like.

Specifically, information regarding an image of a surgery site in a bodycavity of the patient imaged by the endoscope is transmitted as displayinformation from the apparatus group 1201 to the audio-visual controller1207. In addition, information regarding an image of the area around thehands of the operator imaged by the ceiling camera 1287 is transmittedas display information from the ceiling camera 1287 to the audio-visualcontroller 1207. In addition, information regarding an image indicatingthe state of the entire operating room imaged by the operating roomcamera 1289 is transmitted as display information from the operatingroom camera 1289 to the audio-visual controller 1207. Note that, in acase where another apparatus (not illustrated) with imaging functionfurther exists in the operating room system 1200, the audio-visualcontroller 1207 may acquire, as display information, informationregarding an image captured by the other apparatus from the otherapparatus.

In addition, the audio-visual controller 1207 records, in the recorder1205, information regarding an image captured in the past by anapparatus having the imaging function as described above. Theaudio-visual controller 1207 can acquire, as display information, theinformation regarding the image captured in the past from the recorder1205. Note that various types of information regarding surgery may alsobe recorded in advance in the recorder 1205.

The audio-visual controller 1207 causes at least one of the displayapparatuses 1203A to 1203D as output destination apparatuses to displaythe display information acquired from the transmission sourceapparatuses (that is, images captured during surgery and various typesof information regarding surgery). In the example illustrated in FIG.12, the display apparatus 1203A is a display apparatus installed andhung from the ceiling of the operating room. The display apparatus 1203Bis a display apparatus installed on a wall surface of the operatingroom. The display apparatus 1203C is a display apparatus installed on adesk in the operating room. In addition, the display apparatus 1203D is,for example, a mobile device with display function, such as a tablet PC(Personal Computer).

In addition, although not illustrated in FIG. 12, the operating roomsystem 1200 may further include an apparatus installed outside of theoperating room.

Examples of the apparatus installed outside of the operating roominclude a server connected to a network constructed inside and outsideof the hospital, a PC used by medical staff, and a projector installedin a conference room of the hospital. Further, the operating room system1200 may include an apparatus installed outside of the hospital for thepurpose of telemedicine or the like. In such a case, the audio-visualcontroller 1207 can also display the display information on a displayapparatus of another hospital through a video conference system or thelike.

The operating room control apparatus 1209 comprehensively controlsprocesses other than the image display in the non-medical devices. Forexample, the operating room control apparatus 1209 controls the drive ofthe patient bed 1283, the ceiling camera 1287, the operating room camera1289, and the light 1291.

A centralized operation panel 1211 is provided on the operating roomsystem 1200. The user (such as an operator) can provide an instructionregarding the image display to the audio-visual controller 1207 andprovide an instruction regarding the action of the non-medical device tothe operating room control apparatus 1209 through the centralizedoperation panel 1211. The centralized operation panel 1211 includes atouch panel provided on the display surface of a display apparatus.

In a medical site equipped with the operating room system 1200, thesurgery may be conducted while, for example, part of the body (such as asurgery site) of the patient is displayed on the screens of the displayapparatuses 1203A to D. In this case, the sound image of the soundcorresponding to the position of the surgery site displayed on thescreen may be output and localized at the position corresponding to thedisplay position of the surgery site on the screen. For example, whenthe surgery site on the screen of the endoscopic video is bleeding asillustrated in FIG. 13, a sound image of warning sound is localized atthe position corresponding to the bleeding surgery site. In addition,the localized position of the sound image may be three-dimensionallychanged between the operator and the screen based on three-dimensionaldepth information of the surgery site. For example, in a case where thedepth of the bleeding position of the surgery site displayed on thescreen is deep as illustrated in FIG. 14, the sound image is localizedat a position closer to the screen (or a position farther from theoperator). Conversely, in a case where the bleeding position is shallow,the sound image is localized at a position closer to the operator asillustrated in FIG. 15. The present technique can be used toappropriately draw the attention of the operator to the surgery sitethat needs to be treated quickly.

The images regarding the surgery site are obtained by the ceiling camera1287 or the endoscope. In addition, the technique according to thepresent disclosure can be applied to the images of the operating roomcaptured by the operating room camera 1289, and obviously, the techniquecan similarly be applied to images captured by other cameras, imagescaptured in the past, and images delivered from the outside of theoperating room.

Further, the present technique can also be applied to a surgery siteexisting outside of the screens of the display apparatuses 1203A to D.For example, although it is assumed that the surgery site displayed onthe screens of the display apparatuses 1203A to D is part of the entiresurgery site, there may be bleeding or the like from a surgery site notdisplayed on the screens during surgery. According to the presenttechnique, the sound image of the warning sound can be localizedaccording to the surgery site not displayed on the screens.

In the case where there is bleeding from the surgery site existingoutside of the screens of the display apparatuses 1203A to D, the soundimage can be localized in the direction corresponding to the surgerysite to draw the attention of the operator. For example, in a case wherethere is bleeding from the right-hand side of the surgery site displayedon the screen, the localization of the sound image is realized such thatthe warning sound can be heard from the right side of the screen asillustrated in FIG. 16. Here, the localization of the sound image on theright side of the screen may be localization of the sound image on theright side of the range of the screen of the display apparatus in thecase where a general speaker system is adopted or may be localization ofthe sound image so as to generate the sound from the right half of thescreen or from the right end of the screen in the case where the screenvibration speaker system with vibrators (see FIG. 11) is adopted.Further, in a case where plural speaker systems are combined and used,plural sound field generation methods may be combined and used.

In the case where the surgery site is outside of the range of thedisplay screen, the technique according to the present disclosure can beapplied to localize the sound image of the warning sound in anydirection, and in addition, the localized position of the sound imagemay be changed according to the distance from the display range to thesurgery site on the screen. For example, in a case where the distancefrom the display range to the surgery site on the screen is large, thesound image may be localized such that the sound is heard from fartherthan in a case where the distance is small. In addition, the volume ofthe output sound may be changed according to the distance from thedisplay range to the surgery site on the screen. In this case, in thecase where the distance from the display range to the surgery site onthe screen is large, the generated sound may be larger than in the casewhere the distance is small.

In addition, the technique according to the present disclosure may beused along with display for drawing attention of the operator to thescreens of the display apparatuses 1203A to D. An example of the displayfor drawing attention of the operator includes display of Graphic UserInterface (GUI) indicating the direction from the display range on thescreen to the surgery site. The GUI may include only simple display,such as an arrow symbol indicating the direction of the surgery site, ormay also include description of information regarding the position andthe direction of the surgery site.

Example 2

The technique according to the present disclosure can also be applied toan apparatus mounted on a type of moving body, such as a car, anelectric car, a hybrid electric car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, a personalmobility, an airplane, a drone, a ship, a robot, a construction machine,and an agricultural machine (tractor). A case of applying the techniqueaccording to the present disclosure to a moving body control system willbe described below.

FIG. 17 illustrates a schematic configuration example of a vehiclecontrol system 1700 as an example of the moving body control system towhich the technique according to the present disclosure can be applied.The illustrated vehicle control system 1700 includes a drive systemcontrol unit 17100, a body system control unit 17200, a battery controlunit 17300, a vehicle exterior information detection unit 17400, avehicle interior information detection unit 17500, and an integratedcontrol unit 17600. A communication network 17010 connecting theplurality of control units includes, for example, an on-boardcommunication network in compliance with any network, such as CAN(Controller Area Network), LIN (Local Interconnect Network), LAN (LocalArea Network), and FlexRay (registered trademark).

Each control unit includes a microcomputer that executes arithmeticprocessing according to various programs, a storage unit that storesprograms executed by the microcomputer, parameters used for variousarithmetic operations, and the like, and a drive circuit that drives anapparatus to be controlled in various ways. Each control unit includes anetwork interface (IF) for communication with other control unitsthrough the communication network 17010 and includes a communicationinterface (IF) for communication with apparatuses or sensors inside andoutside of the vehicle through wired communication or wirelesscommunication. FIG. 17 illustrates functional components of theintegrated control unit 17600 including a microcomputer 17610, ageneral-purpose communication interface (IF) 17620, a dedicatedcommunication interface (IF) 17630, a positioning unit 17640, a beaconreception unit 17650, a vehicle interior device interface (IF) 17660, asound image output unit 17670, an on-board network interface (NW IF)17680, and a storage unit 17690. The other control units similarlyinclude microcomputers, communication interfaces, storage units, and thelike.

The drive system control unit 17100 controls actions of apparatusesrelated to the drive system of the vehicle according to variousprograms. For example, the drive system control unit 17100 functions asa control apparatus of a driving force generation apparatus, such as aninternal combustion engine and a driving motor, that generates drivingforce of the vehicle, a driving force transmission mechanism thattransmits the driving force to the wheel, a steering mechanism thatadjusts the steering angle of the vehicle, a braking apparatus thatgenerates braking force of the vehicle, and the like. The drive systemcontrol unit 17100 may have a function of a control apparatus of ABS(Antilock Brake System), ESC (Electronic Stability Control), or thelike.

A vehicle state detection section 17110 is connected to the drive systemcontrol unit 17100. The vehicle state detection section 17110 includes,for example, at least one of a gyrosensor that detects the angularvelocity of the axial rotation motion of the vehicle body, anacceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the vehicle, orsensors for detecting the amount of operation of the accelerator pedal,the amount of operation of the brake pedal, the steering angle of thesteering wheel, the engine speed, the rotational speed of the wheel, andthe like. The drive system control unit 17100 uses signals input fromthe vehicle state detection section 17110 to execute arithmeticprocessing and control the internal combustion engine, the drivingmotor, the electric power steering apparatus, the braking apparatus, andthe like.

The body system control unit 17200 controls actions of variousapparatuses equipped on the vehicle body according to various programs.For example, the body system control unit 17200 functions as a controlapparatus of a keyless entry system, a smart key system, a power windowapparatus, and various lamps, such as a headlamp, a back lamp, a brakelamp, a turn signal, and a fog lamp. In this case, radio wavestransmitted from a portable device substituting the key or signals ofvarious switches may be input to the body system control unit 17200. Thebody system control unit 17200 receives input of the radio waves or thesignals to control the door lock apparatus, the power window apparatus,the lamps, and the like of the vehicle.

The battery control unit 17300 controls a secondary battery 17310 thatis a power supply source of the driving motor according to variousprograms. For example, information, such as battery temperature, batteryoutput voltage, and remaining capacity of battery, is input to thebattery control unit 17300 from a battery apparatus including thesecondary battery 17310. The battery control unit 17300 uses thesesignals to execute arithmetic processing to control the temperatureadjustment of the secondary battery 17310 or to control a coolingapparatus or the like included in the battery apparatus.

The vehicle exterior information detection unit 17400 detectsinformation of the outside of the vehicle provided with the vehiclecontrol system 1700. For example, at least one of an imaging unit 17410or a vehicle exterior information detection section 17420 is connectedto the vehicle exterior information detection unit 17400. The imagingunit 17410 includes at least one of a ToF (Time Of Flight) camera, astereo camera, a monocular camera, an infrared camera, or other cameras.The vehicle exterior information detection section 17420 includes, forexample, at least one of an environment sensor that detects the currentweather or climate conditions or a surrounding information detectionsensor that detects other vehicles, obstacles, pedestrians, and the likearound the vehicle provided with the vehicle control system 1700.

The environment sensor may include, for example, at least one of a rainsensor that detects rainy weather, a fog sensor that detects fog, asunlight sensor that detects the degree of sunlight, or a snow sensorthat detects a snowfall. The surrounding information detection sensormay include at least one of an ultrasonic sensor, a radar apparatus, ora LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging, Laser Imaging Detection andRanging) apparatus. The imaging unit 17410 and the vehicle exteriorinformation detection section 17420 may be provided as independentsensor and apparatus or may be provided as an integrated apparatusincluding a plurality of sensors and apparatuses.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example of the installation positions of theimaging unit 17410 and the vehicle exterior information detectionsection 17420. Imaging units 2910, 2912, 2914, 2916, and 2918 areprovided on at least one of the positions including, for example, thefront nose, the side mirrors, the rear bumper, the back door, and theupper part of the windshield of the vehicle interior of a vehicle 2900.The imaging unit 2910 provided on the front nose and the imaging unit2918 provided on the upper part of the windshield of the vehicleinterior mainly acquire images in front of the vehicle 2900. The imagingunits 2912 and 2914 provided on the side mirrors mainly acquire imageson the left side and the right side of the vehicle 2900, respectively.The imaging unit 2916 provided on the rear bumper or the back doormainly acquires images behind the vehicle 2900. The imaging unit 2918provided on the upper part of the windshield of the vehicle interior ismainly used to detect preceding vehicles, pedestrians, obstacles,traffic lights, traffic signs, driving lanes, and the like.

Note that FIG. 18 also illustrates an example of imaging ranges of theimaging units 2910, 2912, 2914, and 2916. An imaging range a indicatesthe imaging range of the imaging unit 2910 provided on the front nose.Imaging ranges b and c indicate the imaging ranges of the imaging units2912 and 2914 provided on the side mirrors, respectively. The imagingrange d indicates the imaging range of the imaging unit 2916 provided onthe rear bumper or the back door. For example, a synthesizing processcan be applied to image data captured by the imaging units 2910, 2912,2914, and 2916 to obtain a bird's-eye image of the vehicle 2900 asviewed from above.

Vehicle exterior information detection sections 2920, 2922, 2924, 2926,2928, and 2930 provided on the front, the rear, the side, the corner,and the upper part of the windshield of the vehicle interior of thevehicle 2900 include, for example, ultrasonic sensors or radarapparatuses. The vehicle exterior information detection sections 2920,2926, and 2930 provided on the front nose, the rear bumper, the backdoor, and the upper part of the windshield of the vehicle interior ofthe vehicle 2900 include, for example, LIDAR apparatuses. The vehicleexterior information detection sections 2920 to 2930 are mainly used todetect preceding vehicles, pedestrians, obstacles, and the like.

The vehicle control system 1700 will continuously be described withreference again to FIG. 17. The vehicle exterior information detectionunit 17400 causes the imaging unit 17410 to capture an image outside ofthe vehicle and receives the captured image data. In addition, thevehicle exterior information detection unit 17400 receives detectioninformation from the connected vehicle exterior information detectionsection 17420. In a case where the vehicle exterior informationdetection section 17420 is an ultrasonic sensor, a radar apparatus, or aLIDAR apparatus, the vehicle exterior information detection unit 17400causes the vehicle exterior information detection section 17420 totransmit an ultrasonic wave, an electromagnetic wave, or the like andreceives information of the received reflected wave. Further, thevehicle exterior information detection unit 17400 can execute an objectdetection process or a distance detection process of persons, cars,obstacles, signs, characters on the road surface, and the like based onthe received information. In addition, the vehicle exterior informationdetection unit 17400 can execute an environment recognition process ofrecognizing rain, fog, road surface conditions, and the like based onthe received information. Further, the vehicle exterior informationdetection unit 17400 can calculate the distance to the objects outsideof the vehicle based on the received information.

In addition, the vehicle exterior information detection unit 17400 mayexecute an image recognition process or a distance detection process ofrecognizing persons, cars, obstacles, signs, characters on the roadsurface, and the like based on the received image data. The vehicleexterior information detection unit 17400 may apply a process, such asdistortion correction or position adjustment, to the received image dataand combine image data captured by different imaging units 17410 togenerate a bird's-eye image or a panoramic image. The vehicle exteriorinformation detection unit 17400 may use the image data captured bydifferent imaging units 17410 to execute a visual point conversionprocess.

The vehicle interior information detection unit 17500 detectsinformation of the inside of the vehicle. For example, a driver statedetection section 17510 that detects the state of the driver isconnected to the vehicle interior information detection unit 17500. Thedriver state detection section 17510 includes a camera that images thedriver, a biosensor that detects biometric information of the driver, amicrophone that collects sound of the vehicle interior, and the like.The biosensor is provided on, for example, the seat surface, thesteering wheel, or the like and detects the biometric information of anoccupant sitting on a seat or the driver holding the steering wheel. Thevehicle interior information detection unit 17500 may calculate thedegree of fatigue or the degree of concentration of the driver or maydetermine whether or not the driver is dozing based on the detectioninformation input from the driver state detection section 17510. Thevehicle interior information detection unit 17500 may apply a process,such as a noise canceling process, to the collected sound signal.

The integrated control unit 17600 controls the entire actions in thevehicle control system 1700 according to various programs. An input unit17800 is connected to the integrated control unit 17600. The input unit17800 is realized by, for example, an apparatus, such as a touch panel,a button, a microphone, a switch, and a lever, that allows the occupantto perform an input operation. Data obtained by sound recognition of thesound input through the microphone may be input to the integratedcontrol unit 17600.

In addition, the input unit 17800 may be, for example, a remote controlapparatus using infrared rays or other radio waves or may be an externalconnection device, such as a portable phone and a PDA (Personal DigitalAssistant), corresponding to the operation of the vehicle control system1700.

In addition, the input unit 17800 may be, for example, a camera, and inthat case, the occupant can input information through a gesture.Alternatively, data obtained by detecting the motion of a wearableapparatus worn by the occupant may be input to the integrated controlunit 17600.

Further, the input unit 17800 may include, for example, an input controlcircuit or the like that generates an input signal based on informationinput by the occupant or the like using the input unit 17800 and thatoutputs the input signal to the integrated control unit 17600. Theoccupant or the like operates the input unit 17800 to input varioustypes of data to the vehicle control system 1700 or instruct aprocessing operation.

The storage unit 17690 may include a ROM (Read Only Memory) that storesvarious programs executed by a microcomputer and a RAM (Random AccessMemory) that stores various parameters, results of arithmeticoperations, sensor values, and the like. In addition, the storage unit17690 may include a magnetic storage device, such as an HDD (Hard DiscDrive), a semiconductor storage device, an optical storage device, amagneto-optical storage device, or the like.

A general-purpose communication interface 17620 is a versatilecommunication interface that mediates communication with various devicesexisting in an external environment 17750. The general-purposecommunication interface 17620 may be provided with a cellularcommunication protocol, such as GSM (registered trademark) (GlobalSystem of Mobile communications), WiMAX (registered trademark), LTE(registered trademark) (Long Term Evolution), and LTE-A (LTE-Advanced),or other wireless communication protocols, such as wireless LAN (alsoreferred to as Wi-Fi (registered trademark)) and Bluetooth (registeredtrademark). The general-purpose communication interface 17620 mayconnect to a device (for example, application server or control server)existing on an external network (for example, Internet, cloud network,or network specific to business) through, for example, a base station oran access point. In addition, the general-purpose communicationinterface 17620 may use, for example, a P2P (Peer To Peer) technique toconnect to a terminal existing near the vehicle (for example, terminalof driver, pedestrian, or shop or MTC (Machine Type Communication)terminal).

The dedicated communication interface 17630 is a communication interfacethat supports the communication protocol established to be used in thevehicle. The dedicated communication interface 17630 is provided with,for example, a standard protocol, such as WAVE (Wireless Access inVehicle Environment) that is a combination of IEEE 802.11p in a lowerlayer and IEEE 1609 in an upper layer, DSRC (Dedicated Short RangeCommunications), and a cellular communication protocol. The dedicatedcommunication interface 17630 typically conducts V2X communication thatis a concept including at least one of vehicle-to-vehicle (Vehicle toVehicle) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (Vehicle toInfrastructure) communication, vehicle-to-home (vehicle to Home)communication, or vehicle-to-pedestrian (Vehicle to Pedestrian)communication.

The positioning unit 17640 receives, for example, a GNSS (GlobalNavigation Satellite System) signal (for example, GPS signal from GPS(Global Positioning System) satellite) from a GNSS satellite to executeposition measurement and generates position information including thelatitude, the longitude, and the altitude of the vehicle. Note that thepositioning unit 17640 may exchange a signal with a wireless accesspoint to specify the current position or may acquire the positioninformation from a terminal with positioning function, such as aportable phone, a PHS (Personal Handy-phone System), and a smartphone.

The beacon reception unit 17650 receives a radio wave or anelectromagnetic wave transmitted from, for example, a wireless stationor the like installed on the road and acquires information of thecurrent position, traffic jam, road closed, required time, and the like.Note that the function of the beacon reception unit 17650 may beincluded in the dedicated communication interface 17630.

The vehicle interior device interface 17660 is a communication interfacethat mediates connection between the microcomputer 17610 and variousvehicle interior devices 17760 existing inside of the vehicle. Thevehicle interior device interface 17660 may use a wireless communicationprotocol, such as wireless LAN, Bluetooth (registered trademark), NFC(Near Field Communication), and WUSB (Wireless USB), to establishwireless communication. In addition, the vehicle interior deviceinterface 17660 may establish wired communication, such as USB, HDMI(registered trademark), and MHL (Mobile High-definition Link), through aconnection terminal not illustrated (and a cable if necessary). Thevehicle interior device 17760 may include, for example, at least one ofa mobile device or a wearable device possessed by the occupant or aninformation device carried in or attached to the vehicle. In addition,the vehicle interior device 17760 may include a navigation apparatusthat searches for a route to any destination. The vehicle interiordevice interface 17660 exchanges control signals or data signals withthe vehicle interior devices 17760.

The on-board network interface 17680 is an interface that mediatescommunication between the microcomputer 17610 and the communicationnetwork 17010. The on-board network interface 17680 transmits andreceives signals and the like according to a predetermined protocolsupported by the communication network 17010.

The microcomputer 17610 in the integrated control unit 17600 controlsthe vehicle control system 1700 according to various programs based onthe information acquired through at least one of the general-purposecommunication interface 17620, the dedicated communication interface17630, the positioning unit 17640, the beacon reception unit 17650, thevehicle interior device interface 17660, or the on-board networkinterface 17680. For example, the microcomputer 17610 may compute acontrol target value of the driving force generation apparatus, thesteering mechanism, or the braking apparatus based on the acquiredinformation inside and outside of the vehicle and output a controlcommand to the drive system control unit 17100. Specifically, themicrocomputer 17610 may perform cooperative control for realizingfunctions of ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) includingavoidance of collision or shock mitigation of vehicle, follow-uptraveling based on the following distance, traveling at a constantspeed, collision warning of vehicle, lane departure warning of vehicle,and the like. In addition, the microcomputer 17610 may control thedriving force generation apparatus, the steering mechanism, the brakingapparatus, or the like based on the acquired information around thevehicle to perform cooperative control for automatic drive or the likefor autonomous traveling regardless of the operation of the driver.

The microcomputer 17610 may generate three-dimensional distanceinformation between the vehicle and objects, such as surroundingstructures and people, to create local map information includingperipheral information of the current position of the vehicle based onthe information acquired through at least one of the general-purposecommunication interface 17620, the dedicated communication interface17630, the positioning unit 17640, the beacon reception unit 17650, thevehicle interior device interface 17660, or the on-board networkinterface 17680. In addition, the microcomputer 17610 may predictdanger, such as collision of vehicle, approach of pedestrian or thelike, and entry into road closed, to generate a warning signal based onthe acquired information. The warning signal may be, for example, asignal for generating warning sound or for lighting a warning lamp.

The sound image output unit 17670 transmits an output signal of at leastone of sound or image to an output apparatus that can visually oraurally transmit information to the occupant of the vehicle or to theoutside of the vehicle. In the example illustrated in FIG. 17, an audiospeaker 17710, a display unit 17720, and an instrument panel 17730 areprovided as output apparatuses. The display unit 17720 may include, forexample, at least one of an on-bard display or a head-up display. Thedisplay unit 7720 may be a display unit of a car navigation system. Thedisplay unit 17720 may have an AR (Augmented Reality) display function.The output apparatus may be an apparatus other than these apparatuses,such as a headphone, a wearable device including a head-mounted displayworn by the occupant, a projector, and a lamp. A display apparatus as anoutput apparatus visually displays the results obtained by variousprocesses executed by the microcomputer 17610 or the informationreceived from other control units in various formats, such as text,image, table, and graph. In addition, a sound output apparatus as anoutput apparatus converts an audio signal including reproduced sounddata, acoustic data, or the like into an analog signal and aurallyoutputs the analog signal.

Note that, in the vehicle control system 1700 illustrated in FIG. 17, atleast two control units connected through the communication network 7010may be integrated into one control unit. Alternatively, individualcontrol units may include a plurality of control units. Further, thevehicle control system 1700 may include other control units notillustrated. In addition, part or all of the functions of one of thecontrol units described above may be provided to another control unit.That is, predetermined arithmetic processing may be executed by any ofthe control units as long as the information is transmitted and receivedthrough the communication network 17010. Similarly, a sensor or anapparatus connected to one of the control units may be connected toanother control unit, and a plurality of control units may mutuallytransmit and receive the detection information through the communicationnetwork 17010.

In the vehicle control system 1700 as described above, there may be, forexample, a case in which information regarding other vehicles in thesurroundings detected by the vehicle exterior information detection unit17400 is displayed on the display unit 17720. In this case, the processof the microcomputer 17610 or the like can be executed to localize thesound image of the sound output from the audio speaker 17710 accordingto the relation between another vehicle displayed on the display unit17720 and the vehicle provided with the vehicle exterior informationdetection unit 17400. Therefore, the technique according to the presentdisclosure can be used to appropriately draw the attention of the driveror the occupant to another vehicle or pedestrian through the localizedposition of the sound image.

FIGS. 19 to 21 illustrate specific examples of the sound localizationusing the technique according to the present disclosure. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 19, part of a windshield 1900 is allocated to thedisplay unit 17720 that displays or projects an image. Further, thedisplay unit 17720 in the windshield 1900 is used as a back camera imagedisplay unit 1901 that displays or projects an image captured by a backcamera. As illustrated, when a following vehicle is displayed orprojected to the back camera image display unit 1901, the sound image ofsound, such as warning sound, is localized at the position correspondingto the display position of the following vehicle. In that case, thelocalized position of the sound image may be three-dimensionally changedbetween the driver or the occupant and the display unit 17720 accordingto the position and the speed of the following vehicle and the followingdistance from the vehicle to the following vehicle. In that case, thevolume of the sound in localizing the sound image may also becontrolled.

While applying the sound localization process to the display position ofthe following vehicle, the vehicle control system 1700 may use thedriver state detection section 17510 to detect the position and theposture of the driver or the occupant inside of the vehicle and takeinto account the position and the posture of the driver or the occupantto control the localized position of the sound image. For example, in acase where the following distance between the vehicle and the followingvehicle is large, the sound image of the sound is localized at aposition closer to the screen as illustrated in FIG. 20 to aurallyexpress that the following distance is large. Conversely, in a casewhere the following distance is small, the sound image is localized at aposition closer to the driver or the occupant as illustrated in FIG. 21to aurally express that the following distance is small.

Similarly, in a case where the travel speed of the following vehicle issmaller than the travel speed of the vehicle, the sound image of thesound is localized at a position closer to the screen. Conversely, in acase where the travel speed of the following vehicle is larger than thetravel speed of the vehicle, the sound image of the sound is localizedat a position closer to the driver or the occupant to aurally expressthe situation that the following vehicle is approaching the vehicle.

Note that the relation between the following vehicle and the localizedposition of the sound image as described above is just an example, andthe relation is not limited to the example. For example, the soundlocalization may be controlled such that the sound image is localized ata position closer to the driver or the occupant in the case where thefollowing distance between the following vehicle displayed on the screenand the vehicle is large, and the sound image is localized at a positioncloser to the screen in the case where the following distance is small.In addition, the volume of the output sound may be changed according tothe relation between the vehicle and the following vehicle.

Although the case of controlling the localized position of the soundimage according to the relation between the vehicle and the followingvehicle has been described with reference to FIGS. 19 to 21, thetechnique according to the present disclosure is not limited to this.According to the technique of the present disclosure, the localizedposition of the sound image can also be controlled according to anobject other than the following vehicle that can be detected by thevehicle exterior information detection unit 17400.

FIG. 22 illustrates another specific example of the sound localizationusing the technique according to the present disclosure. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 22, part of a windshield 2200 is allocated to thedisplay unit 17720 that displays or projects an image. Further, thesound images of the sound corresponding to a pedestrian and a precedingvehicle positioned in front of the vehicle detected by the vehicleexterior information detection unit 17400 are localized on the displayunit 17720 (or the windshield 2200).

As illustrated in FIG. 22, in a case where an object detected by thevehicle exterior information detection unit 17400 is positioned in frontin the travel direction of the vehicle, the object may be visuallyrecognized by the driver through the windshield 2200 in front of thedriver. In such a case, the object positioned in front of the vehicledoes not always have to be visually recognized by the driver through thedisplay unit 17720. However, as in the case of the object positionedbehind the vehicle (see FIGS. 19 to 21), the localized position of thesound image may be three-dimensionally changed between the windshield2200 and the driver according to the position and the speed of theobject in front and the distance from the vehicle to the object infront. In that case, the volume of the sound in localizing the soundimage may also be controlled.

Note that a transmissive display can be used for the windshield 2200. Inthis case, there are an object visually recognized by the driver astransmitted light from the outside and an object visually recognized bythe driver based on output light from the transmissive display. Thesound image may be localized similarly for the object visuallyrecognized as transmitted light and the object visually recognized asoutput light, or the method of localizing the sound image may varydepending on whether the object is an object based on the transmittedlight or an object based on the output light. For example, for the imageof the following car displayed on the windshield including thetransmissive display, the sound image may be localized such that thesound is heard from the back.

Furthermore, in the case of applying the screen vibration speakertechnique to a normal windshield or a windshield using a transmissivedisplay, vibrators may be installed on the windshield, or the sound maybe output such that the frame of the vehicle body vibrates thewindshield. The technique using the screen vibration speaker can beapplied not only to the windshield, but also to a side window or a rearwindow.

So far, the examples of three-dimensionally changing the localizedposition of the sound image between the display position of the object(such as following vehicle, preceding vehicle, and pedestrian) on thewindshield as the display unit 17720 and the driver or the occupant havebeen described. On the other hand, the localized position of the soundimage may be changed between the actual position of the object and thedriver or the occupant.

Specifically, the vehicle control system 1700 uses the vehicle exteriorinformation detection unit 17400 to detect the following distancebetween the vehicle and the following vehicle and uses the driver statedetection section 17510 to detect the position and the posture of thedriver or the occupant inside of the vehicle and therebythree-dimensionally change the localized position of the sound imagebetween the actual position of the following vehicle and the driver orthe occupant. For example, in the case where the following distancebetween the vehicle and the following vehicle is large, the sound imageof the sound is localized at a position closer to the following vehicle(for example, near the rear window) as illustrated in FIG. 23 to aurallyexpress that the following distance is large. Conversely, in the casewhere the following distance is small, the sound image is localized at aposition closer to the driver or the occupant (for example, near theback of the head) as illustrated in FIG. 24 to aurally express that thefollowing distance is small.

Similarly, in the case where the travel speed of the following vehicleis smaller than the travel speed of the vehicle, the sound image of thesound is localized at a position closer to the following vehicle (forexample, near the rear window). Conversely, in the case where the travelspeed of the following vehicle is larger than the travel speed of thevehicle, the sound image of the sound is localized at a position closerto the driver or the occupant (for example, near the back of the head),and the situation that the following vehicle is approaching the vehicleis aurally expressed.

Note that the relations between the actual position of the followingvehicle and the localized position of the sound image are just examples,and the relations are not limited to the examples. For example, thesound localization may be controlled such that the sound image islocalized at a position closer to the driver or the occupant (forexample, near the back of the head) in the case where the followingdistance between the following vehicle and the vehicle is large, and thesound image is localized at a position closer to the following vehicle(for example, near the rear window) in the case where the distance fromthe following vehicle is small. In addition, the volume of the outputsound may be changed according to the relation between the vehicle andthe following vehicle.

Example 3

Lastly, a case of applying and using the technique according to thepresent disclosure in the vehicle control system 1700 in which part orall of the windshield, the rear window, and the side windows are thedisplay unit 17720 will be described. Here, the display unit 17720 maybe a transmissive display using part or all of the windshield, the rearwindow, and the side windows.

For example, in a case where the vehicle provided with the vehiclecontrol system 1700 is a self-driving car, the driver and the occupantcan use part or all of the windshield, the rear window, and the sidewindows as the display unit 17720 to view the video content or browsethe Internet during running or stopping of the vehicle. Further, thetechnique according to the present disclosure can be applied to localizethe sound image and generate the sound field in cooperation with thedisplay object displayed on the display unit 17720, and the sense ofimmersion into the content can be improved for the driver and theoccupant. In this case, the information regarding the position and theposture of the driver or the occupant inside of the vehicle detected bythe driver state detection section 17510 can be used to localize thesound image.

Specifically, in a case where all of the windshield, the rear window,and the side windows are the display unit 17720 and the screen vibrationspeaker technique using the vibrators is mounted, the sound image of thesound can be localized at the display position of the object in thecorresponding content, and the display position can partially bevibrated to transmit the sound to the driver or the occupant.

Note that the multi-window (for example, see FIG. 1) can be applied tothe display unit 17720 using part or all of the windshield, the rearwindow, and the side windows. In this case, each video, such asbroadcast content, streaming content, visual communication, andgraphics, is displayed on part or all of the windshield, the rearwindow, and the side windows. In addition, the multi-window may includea window for displaying the information (such as following vehicles,preceding vehicles, and pedestrians) acquired by the vehicle exteriorinformation detection unit 17400.

Further, the processing function as illustrated in FIG. 9 can beprovided on the vehicle control system 1700 to detect the position ofthe object displayed on each window to localize the sound image at anappropriate position according to the technique of the presentdisclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the face position of the performer(speaker) in the window may be detected, and the sound image may belocalized at the position corresponding to the face position of theperformer (speaker). In addition, the sound image may be localized atthe position corresponding to the object in the window corresponding tothe object acquired by the vehicle exterior information detection unit17400.

Although the description above is based on the assumption that thescreen vibration speaker is used as the audio speaker 17710, a generalspeaker system may obviously be used, and the screen vibration speakerand another speaker system may also be combined and used. However, inthe case where the screen vibration speaker is used, the general speakersystem does not have to be arranged in the vehicle interior, and thespace of the vehicle interior can effectively be utilized.

In addition, the description above is based on the assumption that partor all of the windshield, the rear window, and the side windows are thedisplay unit 17720, and that the screen vibration speaker is used as theaudio speaker 17710. However, the configuration for realizing thetechnique according to the present disclosure is not limited to this.For example, the light arranged on the ceiling of the vehicle interiormay have a housing vibration speaker function using vibrators. In thisway, the general speaker system does not have to be arranged in thevehicle interior, and the space of the vehicle interior can effectivelybe utilized.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The technique disclosed in the present specification has been describedin detail with reference to the specific embodiment. However, it isapparent that those skilled in the art can modify or substitute theembodiment without departing from the scope of the technique disclosedin the present specification.

Although the embodiment applying the technique disclosed in the presentspecification to the television apparatus has mainly been described inthe present specification, the scope of the technique disclosed in thepresent specification is not limited to this. The technique disclosed inthe present specification can similarly be applied to various types ofdisplay apparatuses, such as a projector, a personal computer, a tablet,and a smartphone, that display videos and that output sound insynchronization with the videos.

In addition, the technique disclosed in the present specification can bemore suitably operated by combining the technique with, for example, thescreen vibration speaker technique.

In addition, the technique disclosed in the present specification can beapplied to various products using displays and speakers. For example,the technique disclosed in the present specification can also be appliedto an operating room system and a vehicle control system. Examples ofthe vehicle include a car, an electric car, a hybrid electric car, amotorcycle, a bicycle, a personal mobility, an airplane, an unmannedaerial vehicle, such as a drone, a walking or wheeled robot, aconstruction machine, and an agricultural machine (such as a tractor).

That is, the technique disclosed in the present invention has beendescribed in a form of an example, and the description of the presentspecification should not be restrictively interpreted. The claims shouldbe taken into account to determine the scope of the technique disclosedin the present specification.

Note that the technique disclosed in the present specification can alsobe configured as follows.

(1)

An information processing apparatus including:

a control section that detects a position of a sound source appearing ina video displayed on a screen of a display unit and that uses one ormore vibrators to vibrate the display unit and thereby control output ofsound such that a sound image of sound in synchronization with the videois localized at the position where the sound source appears on thescreen displaying the video.

(2)

The information processing apparatus according to (1), in which

the control section detects a sound source appearing in a video ofbroadcast or an OTT service or in an externally input video andlocalizes a sound image at the position where the sound source appearson the screen.

(3)

The information processing apparatus according to either one of (1) and(2), in which

the control section detects a sound source appearing in a video ofvisual communication and localizes a sound image at the position wherethe sound source appears on the screen.

(4)

The information processing apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3),in which

the control section detects, as a sound source, predetermined graphicsdisplayed on the screen and localizes sound related to the graphics at aposition where the graphics are displayed on the screen.

(5)

The information processing apparatus according to (4), in which

the control section detects, as a sound source, graphics of a soundagent executed on the information processing apparatus and localizes asound image of sound of the sound source at the position where thegraphics are displayed on the screen.

(6)

The information processing apparatus according to (5), furtherincluding:

a detection section that detects a user interacting with the soundagent, in which

the control section further controls a display position of the characteraccording to a position of the user.

(7)

The information processing apparatus according to (4), in which

the control section detects, as a sound source, graphics of OSD or UIappearing on the screen and localizes a sound image of a sound effectassociated with the graphics in synchronization with display of thegraphics on the screen.

(8)

The information processing apparatus according to any one of (1) to (7),in which,

in a case of displaying videos of two or more video sources onindividual windows,

the control section localizes a sound image of a sound source detectedfrom the video of each video source at a position where the sound sourceappears in the corresponding window.

(9)

An information processing method including:

a detection step of detecting a position of a sound source appearing ina video displayed on a screen of a display unit; and

a control step of using one or more vibrators to vibrate the displayunit and thereby control output of sound such that a sound image ofsound in synchronization with the video is localized at the positionwhere the sound source appears on the screen displaying the video.

(10)

A video sound output system including:

a display unit;

a sound output unit that uses one or more vibrators to vibrate thedisplay unit and thereby output sound; and

a control section that detects a position of a sound source appearing ina video displayed on a screen of the display unit and that controls thesound output unit such that a sound image of sound in synchronizationwith the video is localized at the position where the sound sourceappears on the screen displaying the video.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   -   100 . . . Television apparatus    -   200 . . . Television apparatus (information processing        apparatus)    -   201 . . . Processing unit, 202 . . . Tuner,    -   203 . . . Communication unit, 204 . . . Display unit    -   205 . . . Sound input unit, 206 . . . Sound output unit,    -   207 . . . Imaging unit    -   208 . . . Sensor unit, 209 . . . Remote control reception unit,        210 . . . Recording unit    -   301 . . . Video processing unit, 302 . . . Sound processing        unit, 303 . . . Window control section    -   401 . . . Visual communication processing unit,    -   402 . . . Sound processing unit    -   403 . . . Window control section    -   501 . . . Graphics processing unit, 502 . . . Composer    -   503 . . . Sound processing unit, 504 . . . Window control        section    -   501 . . . Video processing unit, 502 . . . Composer,    -   503 . . . Sound processing unit    -   504 . . . Window control section    -   901 . . . Video processing unit, 902 . . . Visual communication        processing unit    -   903 . . . Graphics processing unit, 904 . . . Composer    -   905 . . . Sound processing unit, 906 . . . Window control        section, 907 . . . Superimposition unit    -   1100 . . . Display, 1101 . . . Speaker unit    -   1101-1 and 1101-2 . . . Vibrator (actuator)    -   1102 . . . Stand    -   1200 . . . Operating room system, 1201 . . . Apparatus group    -   1203A to D . . . Display apparatus, 1205 . . . Recorder    -   1207 . . . Audio-visual controller (AC Controller)    -   1209 . . . Operating room control apparatus,    -   1283 . . . Patient bed    -   1287 . . . Ceiling camera, 1289 . . . Operating room camera,        1291 . . . Light    -   1700 . . . Vehicle control system,    -   17010 . . . Communication network    -   17100 . . . Drive system control unit, 17110 . . . Vehicle state        detection section    -   17200 . . . Body system control unit, 17300 . . . Battery        control unit    -   17310 . . . Secondary battery, 17400 . . . Vehicle exterior        information detection unit    -   17410 . . . Imaging unit, 17420 . . . Vehicle exterior        information detection section    -   17500 . . . Vehicle interior information detection unit, 17510 .        . . Driver state detection section    -   17600 . . . Integrated control unit,    -   17610 . . . Microcomputer    -   17620 . . . General-purpose communication interface    -   17630 . . . Dedicated communication interface,    -   17640 . . . Positioning unit    -   17650 . . . Beacon reception unit, 17660 . . . Vehicle interior        device interface    -   17670 . . . Sound image output unit    -   17680 . . . On-board network interface, 17690 . . . Storage unit

1. An information processing apparatus comprising: a control sectionthat detects a position of a sound source appearing in a video displayedon a screen of a display unit and that uses one or more vibrators tovibrate the display unit and thereby control output of sound such that asound image of sound in synchronization with the video is localized atthe position where the sound source appears on the screen displaying thevideo.
 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the control section detects a sound source appearing in a videoof broadcast or an OTT service or in an externally input video andlocalizes a sound image at the position where the sound source appearson the screen.
 3. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the control section detects a sound source appearing ina video of visual communication and localizes a sound image at theposition where the sound source appears on the screen.
 4. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thecontrol section detects, as a sound source, predetermined graphicsdisplayed on the screen and localizes sound related to the graphics at aposition where the graphics are displayed on the screen.
 5. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein thecontrol section detects, as a sound source, graphics of a sound agentexecuted on the information processing apparatus and localizes a soundimage of sound of the sound source at the position where the graphicsare displayed on the screen.
 6. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 5, further comprising: a detection section thatdetects a user interacting with the sound agent, wherein the controlsection further controls a display position of the character accordingto a position of the user.
 7. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 4, wherein the control section detects, as a soundsource, graphics of OSD or UI appearing on the screen and localizes asound image of a sound effect associated with the graphics insynchronization with display of the graphics on the screen.
 8. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in acase of displaying videos of two or more video sources on individualwindows, the control section localizes a sound image of a sound sourcedetected from the video of each video source at a position where thesound source appears in the corresponding window.
 9. An informationprocessing method comprising: a detection step of detecting a positionof a sound source appearing in a video displayed on a screen of adisplay unit; and a control step of using one or more vibrators tovibrate the display unit and thereby control output of sound such that asound image of sound in synchronization with the video is localized atthe position where the sound source appears on the screen displaying thevideo.
 10. A video sound output system comprising: a display unit; asound output unit that uses one or more vibrators to vibrate the displayunit and thereby output sound; and a control section that detects aposition of a sound source appearing in a video displayed on a screen ofthe display unit and that controls the sound output unit such that asound image of sound in synchronization with the video is localized atthe position where the sound source appears on the screen displaying thevideo.